BasicsWho: Michigan (3-2) vs. Boston College (4-2) |
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This one feels far too important for a December game but it’s hard to downplay the importance of tonight’s game versus Boston College.
The last match-up between these two teams was only two years ago. Boston College marched into Crisler Arena for the only 7th game of John Beilein’s tenure in Ann Arbor. Michigan wasn’t supposed to be good and was coming off a disappointing stretch of games in Alaska, but that 13 point home loss to the Eagles set the tone for the season.
Michigan fans will be glad to know that Tyrese Rice graduated last year
Tyrese Rice scorched the Wolverines, scoring 28 points (thanks to a 67% eFG%) and adding 8 rebounds and 5 assists for good measure. Meanwhile, the Maize Rage peppered him with “BUM BUM BUM” chants. Oops.
Luckily, Tyrese Rice is gone and both programs look significantly different today. That’s not to say there aren’t enough familiar faces to remember the last meeting between these two teams. Rakim Sanders (injured), Tyler Roche, and Corey Raji all played significant roles in the last meeting while Joe Trapani nearly transferred to Michigan and starting center Josh Southern is a Saginaw native.
It’s still a bit early to look at KenPom data but Boston College’s statistical profile appears to be taking shape. The Eagles have been strong on offense, scoring 1.17 points per possession. They have shot the ball well (52.5% eFG), held onto it (18.3 TO%), and crashed the glass with an impressive 43.4% offensive rebounding percentage. The major concern for Michigan is that not only can the Eagles shoot the ball (75% of their shots come inside the arc), they crash the glass very well. The bad news for Michigan is that their glaring weaknesses on defense, two point defense and defensive rebounding, correlate with Boston College’s strengths.
Boston College is much less formidable on the defensive side of the ball. The strongest elements of their defense are defensive rebounding and keeping opponents off the free throw line. There are a couple bright spots for Michigan. First, they shouldn’t have much trouble holding onto the ball, the Eagles force fewer turnovers than any high major program in the country. Second, Boston College has struggled to defend the three point shot, allowing opponents to shoot 36.4% from behind the arc.
Joe Trapani, Boston College’s leading scorer has been battling the flu
Boston College’s biggest problem is their growing injury list. Joe Trapani is still recovering from the flu, leading returning scorer Rakim Sanders is sidelined with a high ankle sprain, and Tyler Roche is questionable with a back injury.
It appears that Trapani (15.8 ppg and 7.5 rpg) is going to give it a go and play. He is the go to guy for the Eagles and a threat to post a double double on any night. His supporting cast is highlighted by a pair of wings; Reggie Jackson (14.5ppg, 8rpg, 5apg) and Corey Raji (14.5ppg, 8rpg, 5apg). The man in the middle is Saginaw product Josh Southern who has developed into a nice player, averaging 10.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
The names on the jerseys don’t really matter with Al Skinner. You can count on a well coached team that knows how to execute Al Skinner’s compressed flex offense to perfection. Boston College struggled in their preseason tournament, losing to St Joseph’s and Northern Iowa but I expect them to be ready to play tonight. That means that Michigan is in for a challenge.
If Michigan doesn’t improve significantly on defense and start to hit some shots, they could be looking at a three game losing streak.
Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Big Ten/ACC Challenge is all squared up at 3 going into Wednesday’s games. The other four games tomorrow night include Duke/Wisconsin, FSU/OSU, Illinois/Clemson, and Miami/Minnesota. Needing three wins to take the Challenge, it appears that Michigan, Ohio State, and Minnesota are the best bets for the Big Ten’s first victory.
Pre-game Reading
- For Smotrycz and BC, the fit just wasn’t right
Boston Globe profile of Evan Smotrycz - Holy Smokes! Rollin Out of Raleigh – ‘Cats Down NC State 65-53
Huge win for the Coble-less Wildcats. I didn’t see it coming, is this team legit come Big Ten time? - Michigan basketball forward DeShawn Sims says his role is changing
I am all for it, but let’s see it. - Prospect of the Week: Ekpe Udoh
Ekpe Udoh having a monster season - VIDEO: Michigan forward DeShawn Sims dissects his performance over the past week
- VIDEO: Michigan basketball coach John Beilein breaks down Boston College and forward Joe Trapani
A couple AnnArbor.com videos - Oh, What a (Horrific) Night: North Carolina 89, Michigan State 82
That first half seemed like déjà vu.
I know this might be crazy, but I’m beginning to wonder if Sims should come off the bench instead of starting. Beilein experimented with this early last season, and I think it served to focus Sims’ play both offensively and defensively. Of course, with Gibson’s play so far this season, we probably wouldn’t sacrifice too much on the offensive end early in the game. Just a thought…we’re definitely going to need Sims to start playing like he did the last half of last season…
This game has me really worried. They are big across the front line and I feel like we will see a ton of lobs into the post. Southern and Trapani are both 6-9 and Raji is 6-6.
eddie, i think thatd be a good move… hadnt thought of it but makes sense.
we matched up well with a uconn team last year that was significantly larger than us, and we did an “ok” job against a big oklahoma team too (minus griffin of course, but few teams were able to limit his touches/points)… that being said, we’ll need that type of a performance tonight…
I thought that video clip of DeShawn was pretty surprising: “I thought I played hard, definitely went after all the offensive rebounds… …But you’ll definitely see me become more of a hustle guy…”
Defended his effort more than once, but then went on to say he’d step it up (effort wise). I can’t help but wonder if Beilein didn’t lay into him a little bit during film sessions or something.
I can only hope some rest, some coaching, and home court helps us get over the hump against another team that is seemingly more athletic than us.
home court? That’s great news. For some reason up until this moment I thought that was a road game. I was fretting how with the trip from fla, and then out east, this was basically a “quick turnaround” game which we usually lose. I have new found confidence.
If you look back to last year, it seemed like we struggled mostly with big guys having big games against us (ie Roe, Tisdale/Davis, J. Johnson, Leuer, etc). I also remember Beilein striving to have lineups which are consistent, so that when he goes to the bench, there isn’t a big drop off in play. While maybe it is a bit early to think about changing up the lineup, it is something to consider. The other thing is which will cure a lot of the ills is better 3 pt shooting too!
I think back on our home court we shoot 35% + from 3 and the game is firmly in our control throughout.
Heading to Crisler in 6 hours! Wow do we need this game!!
so will we have a true “home court” advantage? looks like the game is not sold out.
I doubt it will be sold out there were plenty of tickets available last night when I checked. The challenge games routinely have underwhelming crowds in my opinion despite solid ACC programs making the trek to Crisler.
If you are considering going, make the trek and buy seats at the door.
First of all Deshawn shouldn’t come off the bench because he is our 2nd best player (and sometimes best player depending on the night), but secondly he didn’t box out and go after boards like he should have which is reflects a lack of effort. Defense and Rebounding are two categories that reflect effort. There’s some skill and height involved but for Deshawn who’s a strong, tall kid, it’s effort. I’m glad if Beilein laid into him. Conversely, when the 3 pt shot isn’t falling, the team needs to do a better job of getting the ball to Sims in the post so he can do his thing from underneath. Many times he’ll make a good post move and get into position to score. Now he just needs to finish. We should beat BC at home in a close game.
And Manu Ginobili is one of the Spurs best players yet Popovich continues to bring him off the bench. Maybe a kick in the ass is what Deshawn needs to get going in the right direction.
I kinda like the idea of a symbolic “benching” of Sims, and him coming off the bench, if that’s what it takes to light a fire under him.
It bothers me that he said he “loved his role” in the Bama game….Dude we LOST! I would prefer if he loves winning games instead of feeling good about his role!
Sorry guys thinking about putting Peedi on the bench is the worst idea I have ever heard. He is the only shot blocking threat we have and this offense revolves around him and Manny. The two man game between them opens up shots for everyone else. Besides do you really think Gibson should start. He is a nice role player, but there’s no reason to panic and put any blame on an undersized Sims playing center for this team. Besides, last time I checked he was leading this team in 3 point shooting. Honestly we would of had problems with Houston Baptist without him. He needs to start stay out of foul trouble and play 30+ minutes for this team to win. We will shoot better, get out and run and hopefully help the big ten take down this challenge.
I don’t think anyone’s suggesting anything more than Sims just not playing the first few minutes of the game.
Peedi on the bench is absolutely ludacris. I would like to see Zack Gibson get a start. I personally think that he would add to our intensity. I can understand Gibson coming off the bench considering he is gone after this year and is not near the talent that Peedi is but teams will be less likely to attack us in the middle if Peedi and Gibson are on the floor at the same time. I like the lineup of
C – Gibson
PF – Sims
SF – Harris
SG – Novak
PG – Morris
I do think we need LLP throughout the season but I don’t favor his 3 point shot over anyone elses and I think that Novak helps us with rebounding and is a better 3 point threat than LLP.
If Trapani and Southern are a big threat inside, we may see more of the Gibson + Sims lineups that so many clamor for. My question on this is how much they have practiced the 1-3-1 with both of them in the lineup – does Peedi play on the wing and Zach in the middle?
Peedi was our second best player last year, and Beilein opted to bring him off the pine instead of starting him in the beginning of the year. I’m sure there was a reason. According to coach, that reason was to focus him, let him see how the game was going. considering he seemed lost and out of focus in Orlando, i merely suggested that perhaps that might be a way for Beilein to get him back on track. I certainly don’t mean to imply that he should only be playing 15 minutes a game.
I wouldn’t hesitate to say that Zack Gibson is a significantly better shot blocker than Sims. Maybe not a better all around defender but definitely a better shot blocker.
Starting Gibson wouldn’t be to take a huge chunk from Sims’ minutes but to change up the flow.
llp was lights out in the old spice tournament and as of right now the only one i feel is being consistent ……..he is the only one right now that when he shoots a 3 i feel its going in…….novak hustles yeah but how much does that really affect the game………gibson in for novak and keep the rest the same is the best line up or maybe keeping it the same but giving more mins to gibson and evening him and novaks out a bit……..no way novak should be getting 32 mins a game thats outrageous because that means he is getting probably the 3rd most mins and he is no where near good enough for that
novak definitely not the biggest 3pt threat at this point…..llp right now is for sure…….idk what peoples obsession with novak is but he hasnt done anything so far this year thats been impressive he is still a fairly slow 3pt shooter and that is it…….i heard beilein today say that novak got 32 mins and that gibson got 11 and that gibson had more shots in those 11 mins and points that novak did……something has to change and quickly
Novak gets minutes because his +/- data suggests that he is both a valuable defender AND an offensive threat. most guys on the squad you could say are one or the other, while novak is both. no one can argue that his shot hasn’t fallen this year, but the early season +/- metrics still suggest that he deserves his minutes
Three very correctable items that can help the Wolverines win tonight:
-Stop ball watching on defense – be intent on responsibilities in manning up, stopping penetration, rotating for help and box out! Don’t just turn and watch the dribble-drive or the shot in the air. do something about it. (also applies to the offensive end when a shot goes up).
-Better body position and spacing out of the perimeter defenders will allow for better lateral quickness and less penetration.
-Get the ball in the post more at the beginning of the game. Make them respect Sims/Gibson as a scoring threat and it will open up the three’s and driving lanes.
Overall – I think they bust out of this slump tonight. Last year the team played best with its back against the wall. This seems to be one of those games even though it is so early.
Go Blue!
I don’t think our outcomes in orlando change depending on who starts. I think our issues are much simpler: make your shots, rebound, and play some d.
early thoughts:
* so at first under16 tv timeout, BC has scored on 7/8 of their offensive possessions with 2 offensive rebounds – regardless of what the score is, that’s definitely not good to see…
* dmorris needs to finish his shots, just like in orlando…
7 minutes in and Michigans defense is still MIA. 15-12 BC
That is some sad rebounding, and frankly its not about athleticism, NW could beat us inside at this rate.
Especially interior defense (MIA). It is clear BC watched the Orlando tape, and saw they could pound it inside, score at will in the paint, penetrate in the paint, peel the paint from the floor to paint their houses. WTF? Seriously. Do we just not have anyone who can fake like they can block shots? This isn’t working. Offense looks fine, and may carry us through the game…but interior defense is pathetic.
Gibson is making his presence felt.
And BC is running Michigan off the floor… 23-12. 9:05.
Wow…where’s the the fire in the team to prove themselves after the Old Spice Classic?
the gap in talent between manny and deshawn and the rest of the team is huge. our offense is so dependent on them.
* [update] by my count…at the under8 TO, BC has scored on 11/15 possession with 3 offensive boards and has 18 pts in the paint… at one point it was 10/12, though a few good defensive series’ to close out that segment
Frustrating – we finally go to a two-big lineup, only to have Sims immediately commit his second personal.
vogrich needs to develop more of a shooter’s mentality/confidence. after a few misses he becomes too hesitant on good looks.
This wasn’t the way Michigan needed to come out. Yikes.
I’ve already broken a Directv remote (3rd this year/2 during football season), have been yelled at by my wife 4 times for cussing (loudly), and now I’m pouting. I’m 28-years old. I have issues.
Is anybody else getting sick of Len Elmore ripping Michigan for being a perimeter team? I swear that man is the Joe Morgan of college basketball.
Right now we look like a combination of short, slow and not aggressive.
man, do we need wright to go okie sytle and hit like 5 threes….
Josh Southern looks like he’s got no respect for Michigan basketball as a program. He’s rolling his eyes and smacking Gibson around.
Cronin in, time to see what he can do.
unexplainable
Complete lack of mental toughness, execution, whatever you want to call it. Very disappointing half.
UGH! This is the most frustrating game. How can no one hit an open shot (even from the line)?
Blown defensive assignments. Missed free throws. Poor offensive execution. Unexplainable turnovers. Just a lack of focus.
Dear Ekpe,
We could really use your defensive presence from time to time, you are truly missed.
One other mini-rant: is it me or have we lost a really large number of rebounds/loose balls this season? It seems like every game we have like 10 squirt out of our hands.
this sucks
LLP has to dunk that. And someone for goodness sakes get a freaking body on Raji! Michigan would be down by 30+ if Rakim Sanders was healthy.
Omg.
At least The Ultimate Fighter is on tonight.
yeah i wonder if kimbo has any eligibility left? i’d love to have him in the paint
This reminds me of last year, whenever Peedi had someone opposing him that was 6’6 brute he would fall back. Remember how we made Jamelle Cornely from PSU look like the best PF in basketball until we went against “Blake”?
I’m wondering if anyone on this team has ever seen a three actually go in the hoop?
This is infuriating. No defense. Total inability to rebound the ball. I know Beilein’s system doesn’t emphasize those things, but you can’t win games like this. I really don’t know if I can watch any more of this.
I can understand if a big man can’t hit free throws, but when you’re a guard and yous specialize in the 3 and you can’t hit free throws, well you’re just not a very good basketball player.
Getting beat like this at home ain’t right. Michigan has some soul searching to do. Reggie Jackson is taunting the whole building.
We remind me of a lab rat who keeps getting zapped every time it tries to get some food and yet keeps on trying. Hey lets shoot some more 3s.
Sorry, don’t mean to be so negative, just need to vent. This is tough to watch.
Well, if Illinois can go on a 36-14 run to get back into the Clemson game, maybe we can too.
Shoot more 3s. Smart. Smartest team in the country. Box out? Sorry, that takes too much effort. This is disgusting.
Never thought I’d be scared seeing Arkansas- Pine Bluff on the schedule.
We have now been dominated by also rans from the Big East ACC and SEC. BC is an also ran. You don’t lose to Northern Iowa and Saint Joe’s if you’re an ACC contender.
Well folks UM is alot worst then we thought.
– I think Harris is hurt.
– LLP can’t play D
– I think Sims has got senioritis or out partying too much something is wrong with him
– Morris is not ready for college ball
– Looks like they have already given up on the season
– Only bright spot is Zack
This could be a very very long season
yeah we really have some soul searching to do…
we look tired
our confidence is at an all-time low, nowhere near the fight we brought to the first round game vs. creighton
defense obviously needs a lot of work
this is an awful start to our season
Someone needs to put Jackson and Southern in their place. They are absolute punks.
manny has a problem with clutching
unecessarily. He’s put himself in avoidable trouble at least a dozen times this season by clutching when it hasnt been called for.
Where was this intensity the first 35 minutes? I’m wondering if this team has a lack of leadership.
Well we can blame Michigan for the Big 10 not winning the challenge for the first time ever
We would have won this game if we had made even a few more 3-pointers. Our shooting has been horrendous for most of the season and until that changes we aren’t going to be very good, but we knew that coming into the year.
Our defense was better today, particularly in the 2nd half.
I do think that our starting lineup needs to be changed. Zack Gibson has probably been our second-best player all year and has certainly been better than Peedi. Peedi needs to be benched. He started last year on the bench and it really seemed to motivate him. Stu should be starting for Darius also. Darius seems a little overwhelmed.
well that was embarrassing – -if we play with the defensive intensity of the last 6 minutes of the game, then we’d win…
and for a stretch there we could have played the following on loop:, throw up a three, not follow the shot, play good defense and force a poor shot, allow an easy offensive rebound and put back…
As much as I wanted to blame defense, the fact is we only gave up 62 points to BC. But we’ve fallen to a level of shooting I’ve never seen before.
Props to Illinois for getting their revenge from last year. Last year Illinois blew a large lead in the 2nd half to lose by 2.
Yes, the three point shooting has been bad. But our defense is terrible. Our best shot of winning right now is a line up of Douglas, Harris, Gibson, Vogrich and Novak. Coach needs to play players who want to hustle and go after rebounds. Why not give Aso a chance, anything is better than the play over the last 5 games.
Even if KU is our only other out of conference loss, NCAA tourney just became pretty unlikely. Here’s to Michigan sports.
I can guarantee you the way this team is playing right now they WILL get swept by MSU, OSU, and Wisconsin. Their athleticism will run us right out of the gym.
I’m still irritated about that Josh Southern guy. What is it with guys from Michigan who go to ACC and Big East schools acting like they’re too good for Michigan?
Man…what a game. Straight up as everyone says we rely to much on the three and that with other things loses us the game. Lackadaisical players…hmm let’s see who can’t I name? We let all this hype get to us with this #15 rank and #3 in the big ten and now were looking like fools on national tv. Beilein needs to change up something because he obviously knows (& the players) what he’s doing ain’t working.
On to swimming/diving season now. Beilein recruits slow,white non athletic players…We won’t even sniff the NIT. New AD needs to clean house.
The horrible shooting has cost us a lot early in the season. We ended up shoring up the defense a little. Either Sims needs to get it in gear or Gibson needs to take his minutes, if we are going to get back to the tournament.
whoever scott is….YOU ARE AN ABSOLUTE MORON. Everyone is frustrated right now but the team will get better. We have to find our leadership and once a couple of shots go down, it will be contagious. 6 months ago, everyone was loving the hoops program and after 3 bad games, you are jumping off the bandwagon. Try being loyal to your school and your team!
So far we’ve lost to one of the worst teams in the SEC, a Big East team that won’t make the NCAA Tournament that doesn’t have a starter taller than 6-7, and perhaps the 8th place team in the ACC.
We are in serious trouble, and unless we go at least 11-7 in the Big Ten have probably already lost an NCAA Tournament at-large berth, barring a sweep of both Kansas and Connecticut, because there’s not enough quality wins attainable on our schedule given the three bad losses we already have.
It’s clear the chemistry isn’t right on the team, and this was not a productive offseason in terms of player development and anticipating how teams would adjust to us after seeing us on film with this core group of players for all of last season. The size limitations were there last season, and will be there all this season as well, but we made up for that with chemisty and guts.
Two things we lack, along with defense.
The defense needs to get fixed FAST. The team is just lazy. On one play Raji drove past Manny then past Sims who just stood there and watched the layup. Pathetic. I’m trying not to be too upset but this past week has been frustrating and tonight may have been the worst Beilein coached game.
Offensively, for how regarded our players are for their shooting, they sure miss ALOT of shots. The shooting this year has been so pathetic I feel like Im watching an Amaker team again
UofM sports really stink this year. I’m just frustrated and tired of losing. Not just losing, but ass lickings due to poor effort and execution.
Ouch, I really thought we’d get this one. I can’t say I expected to be 3-3 at this point. Really, really disappointed. Hopefully Coach Beilein has some answers and can get this team on track.
You know what other two things we lack? Dave Merritt and CJ Lee. This team could really use their leadership, especially on defense.
We got are butts kicked. Not playing with alot of confidence. I hope somebody in that team stands up and takes charge.
Well that was embarrassing.
Can I get the money back for the “Go Blue” package of tickets I bought?
I live and die with this team. Mostly die.
Season is done. Realistically, does anyone really think they will do anything? We’re 3-3 with 3 more losses to Utah, Uconn and Kansas, that makes us 6-6 at best in the non-conference. If we go 11-7 in conf that makes you 17-13……won’t get you in. We will be like 7-11, 6-12 at best. M basketball is just bad right now.
We do miss Merritt and Lee leadership, but this matador defense and pathetic shooting are deeper than just a new PG.
Who in Vegas had us at -7.5?!?
It puzzles me, when we’re behind way late in games, that we’re shying from the longer three. It seems that it’s been the best chance to go for the win in a couple of our losses this season. Stu, Manny – they passed on long-range looks in the last couple of meaningful possessions tonight. I know the threes haven’t been falling, but the three is what we live and die by – so let’s go down shooting–I think. I wouldn’t mind seeing what this Vogrich kid can do from 25’-26′. Let him loose! I had my head in the oven an hour ago, but at least we don’t have a bad loss. We need to improve, and we have a coach that can make that happen, thank god. We need a good nonconference W somewhere. Utah and a winning conference record probably does it. UConn and a .500 conference record does it. OR — let’s just beat Kansas – yeah, let’s do that.
Aside: Coach Knight doing color — he’s something to be appreciated: there won’t be anything like him ever again.
Live by the 3 die by the 3..Maybe go back to Peedi off the bench for a spark, rather then him being lost in the lineup when he starts. Its funny, last year I constantly hated Lee, Merrit, and Gibson. This year I would love to have one of them back, and believe Gibson is going to be a big part in this teams success. For everybody jumping off, dont get back on. Its a 30+ game season, and were 6 games in! No NIT? No Tournament? Please take the gun out of your mouth, adjustments need to be made but its not time to throw in the towel seriously. This team is struggling,its basketball and a long season..with a young team. They will get better, cause they cant get any worse!
lol. Overreact much guys?
Geez, I thought I was upset. I thought maybe coming on here would help, but it’s just depressing.
Whoever says we can’t make the tournament. Conn, Kansas, MSU x2, OSU x2, Purdue x2, Minny x2, Wisky x2. That’s twelve chances for quality wins. If we win five of those (six home court) I think people would have a reallly hard time leaving us off out of the tourny. It’s a long season with a lot of important games left. I’m not saying we can easily beat these teams (especially the way we’re playing now) but we can turn things around. It wasn’t always pretty last year.
As far as the team goes, Sims off the bench isn’t a bad idea. I think LLP can be the third scorer, he can get to the rim when he wants to (needs to learn to finish a little better though). Also, Morris is going to be a good player, I’m sure of it. I would say he’s our most active on-the-ball defender. He really creates problems. Manny on the other hand, lost his guy a few times. He takes a lot of risks on D, some good, some bad.
Overall, I’m not happy so far, but i’m not in panic mode yet.
Considering how well Wisc, Illinois, Northwestern, OSU, and Purdue all looked during these games, it looks like we will be back to the 7-9th places teams in the Big 10 realistically, while hoping for a spot in the tourny. Wisconsin looks much better than expected and OSU simply looked dominant over one of the physically biggest teams in the nation.
At some point we have to legitimately talk about taking the redshirt off of Jordan Morgan, right? We need somebody who has some size and can bang in the paint and clean the boards. Of the freshman bigs, he’s the guy that has the best chance to give us what we need.
FSU is not a great team… I saw them in Orlando and honestly they got lucky that Marquette collapsed in the 2nd half. Alibi is still raw, Snaer is way overhyped, and other than that they have some OK role players.
I agree that if we play like we’ve been playing the last 3 games, we may struggle to break .500 in the non-conference and won’t be any better than 7th in the Big Ten. But it can’t get much worse guys. The shots will fall eventually, Beilein will come up with a way to shore up the D (which, looking at points allowed, hasn’t been that awful), and the freshmen will mature. Let’s just hope that these things happen in time for Utah, UConn, etc.
once again gibson was solid……..vogrich showed some explosiveness and towards the end when it was too late the defense finally picked things up
Hey guys,
Post game in the morning. Going to try to get some frustration out.
Missed the game but maybe that was for the better. I see a lot of people talking about interior defense but in the games I’ve watched it’s been the perimeter D that’s frustrated me. If the 4 guards in the line up can’t keep anyone out of the lane, teams are going to score inside.
In response to all this bring Sims off the bench talk-
Probably a good idea, I mean, I never really understood the big deal about it… it’s about who ends the game not who starts it.
Personally I would like to see Sims and Gibson play together a lot more. Teams know how to attack Michigan right now and it’s obvious that they are taking advantage of the lack of size and athleticism.
Great to see Cronin make a cameo. Loved the stuff.
Just when I thought I had a a reprieve from a disastrous Michigan football season…..Figured, Hey, we’re ranked 15 for god’s sake. At the very worst, we fall out of the top 25 and make the tourney. At best we are a 4/5 seed and I never have to sweat it. Well, guess what, Ken? You now have to sweat every game. At least until all hope is lost. Man am I heartbroken.
Will Manny ever hit a three again? If he hadn’t taken one three point shot this season, then we probably have two more wins.
I know that Darius is young, but I expected some kind of offense from the guy. He’s a top 50 recruit. There are other top 50 freshman out there averaging 10 points a night. I thought there would at least be some kind of mid range jumper game. I never thought him shooting a three would be a ludicrous idea either. I guess that’s why they call them highlight reels.
Have you ever seen this many bounces go the other way? This many hard fought rebounds squirt out of our hands? This many wide open layups botched? Jeebus!
I hope to god that Cronin is only 50% right now, because despite his ability to swat a ball flat footed now and again, he may be completely useless for 4 years. I love the guy, I really do, but compare his athletic ability to any other 7 footer out there right now. It’s just not pretty.
Stu, please hit a shot again. It used to look so pretty.
I’m worried about this year, obviously, but completely terrified about next year. Who the hell is going to score? Who is going to play defense. Ahhhhhhh!!!!!
Now that I have that off my chest. We can still make the tourney. I do have faith in this team and there are a ton of chances to pick up signature wins in the B10 season. Just didn’t think I would have to be praying at this point in the season.
Another disappointing defensive performance with too many individual breakdowns. No weak-side box out, lazy close-out gives up an open shot, poor defensive stance allows dribble penetration into the paint.
At least the man-to-man defense looked solid for a few stretches, we just cannot afford to get killed in the 1-3-1. I agree with Beilein’s post game comments, this looks like the team from late January last year.
I know Beilein permits all five positions to shoot the 3, but both Manny and Sims need to seriously limit their 3-point attempts. They need to take those shots inside the arc, or find ways for those attemtps to come from Stu, LLP, and Novak.
Ken in LV you are right on with your comments. Looks like we will have to worry about every game for the next two years.
I wonder if any insiders know the real truth about Manny’s leg injury. I believe it’s affecting his shot. Watch the way he leans back and kicks his legs out. He does not jump straight up on 3′s.
What’s wrong with Sims? family problems, person problems, taking something? He doesn’t look like the old strong, aggressive Sims.
When we win, it seems like the system works (1-3-1, lots of threes, and poor rebounding), but when we lose it seems like the system has to work perfectly to get a w. If you play like Michigan State or West Virginia, those teams seem to be able to eeeck out wins even when things don’t go perfectly for them. They seems to out muscle you, defend you and power you to wins even if the jumpers are not falling and everyone seems to be off. With JB’s system, if the shots are not falling, they will lose.
Don’t misunderstand – this hasn’t gone well at all, and it’s nothing to be happy about. There are also, I admit, few reasons to feel optimistic.
That being said, there’s tons of basketball to be played. Remember that we’re running with a freshman at the 1. If we rally and beat either Kansas or UConn and do well in the season, we’ll get into the tournament just as much as if we were undefeated right now.
As a guy who was in the student section for the last two seasons of Tommy and who endured the 10 win year before finally getting sweet satisfaction last season, I understand everybody’s disappointment, but push on. The team will too.
Just have to get this out there…
Guess the Wolverine:
Stat line: 3 for 11 FG (27%) for 9 pts, 3 Reb, in 35 minutes.
More minutes than anyone except Manny, who also had 35. You guessed it, Novak. I think Beilein is still infatuated with Novak hustle.
Hey I like him a lot, but Gibson didn’t even get back in until the 8 minute mark in the 2nd half, and he was playing maybe better than anyone.
I know, just one more problem on the pile of problems.
What about this move? i believe this happened beg of the year last year if im not mistaken.
Since gibson is playing really well right now and beilien needs to somehow make sims to start making layups..missed 2 that i saw again last night. Mr Beilein should start gibson and bring sims off the bench at least for the next game to knock some sense into sims. He would also provide that spark off the bench that gibson has but it would be a lot bigger of a spark if he makes layups haha